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These glass spheres were used to contain gases such as iodine, bromine, and hypo-nitrous acid in order to study their light-absorption properties, i.e. their absorption spectra. Light shown on the cell passed through the glass and was absorbed by the…

The three prisms hanging from the brass stand may be folded up in pairs to demonstrate achromatism (no color separation) or constant deviation (no color dependence of the angle of minimum bending of light.) These were made by Lerebours et Secretan of…

An ammeter is a device for measuring electric current. The analog ammeter is constructed so as to pass only a small (but known) fraction of the current to be measured through the meter movement that deflects the needle. This allows a very sensitive…

Analytical balances are accurate and precise instruments for weighing chemical samples. They require a dust-free and draft-free location on a solid bench that is free of vibrations. The samples must be measured at room temperature to prevent natural…

Lightning is the ultimate arc lamp, and so Benjamin Franklin's 1752 experiment of drawing electricity from the clouds and jumping a spark is perhaps the first arc lamp. In 1801 Humphry Davy observed the brilliant spark obtained when the connection…

The simplest type of balance, the equal-arm, or beam, balance, is an application of a lever. A uniform bar, the beam, is suspended at its exact center on a knife-edge set at right angles to it. The point of support is called the fulcrum. Two pans of…

This is a device used to demonstrate the effect of atmospheric pressure. A glass vessel with openings at the bottom and top has its large top opening covered by a piece of animal bladder that is tied to seal it around its edges. As air is pumped from…

Chemists, and other people who do careful weighings, know that we live at the bottom of a sea of air, and that a buoyant force equal to the weight of the air displaced by our bodies acts upward on us. Alas, the density of air is small, and the…

When the large center disk, made of non-conducting material with metallic strips attached, was turned using a hand crank, fixed metallic brushes rubbed against the metallic strips causing them to become charged. The charge was drawn off and collected…